The present invention generally relates to wireless communication networks, and more particularly relates to estimating and predicting network load for a wireless communication network.
A cellular network comprises a hierarchy of network elements. For example, a 3G UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) cellular network comprises radio access network elements (e.g., cell sites, radio network controller) and core network elements such as SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node), GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node), and MSC (Mobile Switching Center). Network operators typically collect network element information through a monitoring infrastructure. Network monitoring provides invaluable information on network performance, network load, fault detection, etc. Network monitoring also enables network planners to answer questions on topology planning and upgrading. However, fine-grained monitoring is an expensive operation and a cellular service provider generally needs to bear the cost (both financial and overhead of data collection) of monitoring.